Transport workers protest across Europe in support of Polish dockers

Transport workers have held protests in locations across Europe to demonstrate their objection to the poor treatment of workers in the Port of Gdansk, Poland.

09/02/2016 – ITF/ETF affiliated union Solidarnosc has members based at Deepwater Container Terminal (DCT) Gdansk. They have faced constant obstruction from their employer over the past two and half years as they have tried to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In particular there is concern over the number of union leaders and activists who have had their contracts of employment terminated during this time likeMaciek Konopka.

The target of the protests in Frankfurt, Luxembourg and London, has been the offices of Australian financial services and asset management company Macquarie which is the majority owner and manager of DCT Gdansk.

Protesters have been calling on senior company representatives to meet with ITF/ETF officials to discuss the role they could play in bringing about a resolution to the ongoing dispute.

Chair of the ITF dockers’ section and president of the ITF Paddy Crumlin said: “This company may be based in Australia but they are involved in business on a global scale and as such they have the power to influence decisions that impact on workers. Dockers in Europe have been taking action over the past week because they want to see a drastic improvement in conditions for their fellow workers in Poland and Macquarie has the ability – and the responsibility – to intervene, particularly given the pension money of workers in Australia and elsewhere that are invested in this and other of their projects.”

Vice chair of the ITF dockers’ section Torben Seebold added that Solidarnosc members at DCT are seeking a decent CBA, reinstatement of their representatives and colleagues and improvements to pay and contracts of employment and that Macquarie is in a position to help make that happen.